The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-12-27
ON THE IsTHMus.
The Experiences of Lieutenant Pea
rys Advance Agent.

NEW YORK, Dec. 26 j. I. Ford, one of
the Nicaragua Canal engineers, was sent to
Jamaica in advance of Ligut. Peary's expe-
dition, to select force of laborers and have
them ready on the arrival of the steamer
Hondo. Mr.. Ford returned here from Ja-
maica on leave, and will sail for Nicaragua
Jan. 9TH. He is swarthy young English
man, who has had nine years Of active expe-
rience in the public works department of ia
lnaica. He speaks Spanish like Castilian,
and might readily be taken for Cuban. He
gives the following account of his expert
ences:
"When 1 arrived at Port Morant, after
having engaged the desired force of men at
Fortune Island, the Spanish gunboat Concha
was in port, and it was reported on shore
that she had come from Santiago de Cuba to
watch the movements of the Hondo, the
Spaniards believing that the reputed survey
ing party was really flibustering expedi-
tion against Cuba. The commander Of the
gunb0at had sent ashore kilograms for the
Spanish Consul at Kingston, and the author
tiles at Havana. Jamaica enfOrces quaran-
tine against the Cuban ports, and the GUS
toms officer at Port MOrant, on learning
that the Concha was last from Santiago,
wished to order her to the quarantine
grounds; but as be could not speak Spanish
he asked me to go along and interpret for
him. The officers of the gunboat were more.
suspicious than ever when they heard me
talk Spanish and as they had learned that /
had engaged 20 men on shore, they did their
best to evade the quarantine and remain in
side, making various excuses, and declaring
that their machinery would not wsrk. l
told them, on behalf of the customs officer,
of fhQu aonld nhtain nr0VlSln0S
plies from shore until they complied with
the regulations, and that the officer would
telegraph to the authorities at Kingston, so
they finally weighed anchor and steamed out
to quarantine, where they remained under
full steam.
81 had told the Spaniards my business,a and
the object of the expedition on the H0ndo,
but they were incredul0us. At midnight,
the Aguan. sister vessel to the Hondo, and
of the same line came in from Belize and
left at once for the north. At daylight the
SpaniaIds weighed anchor and started in
chase. They must have been confirmed in
their suspicious when they met the Hondo
little way off the port, and believed that she
had landed her expedition somewhere, as
they steamed straight away for Cuba"
Concerning the object OF his mission, Mr.
Ford says that the 20 men taken from For
tune Island are good poatmen, and Will be
serviceable for work on the lake and river.
The 30 Jamaicans were all procured in the
forest work with axe and knife. The trou-
BILE which has been experienced with the ia
maica men at Panama, Mr.. Ford thinks, has
been the result of mismanagement. As
rule they are good-natured and easily man.
aged, but they should be selected with dis
efiIifnatfvn, 40 cf the in the
towns are lazy and dissolute, and their infu-
ence is demoralizing. From inquiry among
citizens, Mr.. Ford gather4 that the laborers
for Panama are engageS by various indie
pendent agents in the principal towns Of tho
islands. The agents received from So to 81
tracts, but the men are offered free passage
and are promised employment on arrival.
Under this system the agents have, of course
shipped as many men as possible, while 1t
has suited the contractors at Panama to
have there many more laborerS than were
needed in order TO lower the scale of wages,
as the men could not get return passage
home and must work or starve. Great de-
moralizati0n, wretchedness, and loss OF life
have resulted from this system. The en-
plOyeS OF the contractors and Sub-c0ntract-
ors on the canal are the victims of greedy
spectators, who get large proportion of
their wages for poor food and unhealthy
lodgings, and so great have been the suffer-
ing and mortality among them that the gov
ernment Of Jamaica has taken measures to
discourage the people from going, and finally
after sending down three commissions of in
Quiry, has issned proclamation of warning
against Panama, and has passed law to re-
strict the agency traffic.
Mr.. Ford was assured that under proper
organization and management and upon any
reasonable assurance of good faith and fair
dealing the authorities would welcome and
assist their pea santry to take advantage of
any opportunity to better their condition,
and that certain cheap and satisfactory labor
to the extent of 10000 or $1,000 men from
these islands, could be guaranteed to an un-
dertaking fulfilling these conditions.